Just when Ruben Amorim must have thought his luck would never turn. Somehow Manchester United managed to inflict Crystal Palace’s first home defeat in the Premier League since February and end their own five-year wait for a victory at this ground after a first half when their opponents should have been out of sight.
Oliver Glasner’s side had been rampant and deservedly took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s retaken penalty. But they could not make their dominance count and having failed to score a goal against Palace in their four previous league meetings that included three defeats, like the proverbial London buses, United struck back twice in the space of nine minutes through Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount to snatch the points.
It was a frustrating afternoon at the end of a long week for Glasner, who has been linked with United in the past and saw Ismaïla Sarr limp off with a concerning injury before half-time. His Portuguese counterpart may have kept his emotions in check as he headed down the tunnel immediately after the final whistle. But he must have been beaming inside after a much-improved performance that means United move above Palace into sixth place.
Amorim had played down comparisons between his and Glasner’s tactical approach in the buildup to United’s trip to south London, although he acknowledged that Palace “are just doing things better than us”. His response to the lacklustre defeat against 10-man Everton on Monday was to change both wing-backs, with Amad Diallo moving to the right flank as Diogo Dalot replaced Patrick Dorgu after Amorim said he felt anxious when the Denmark defender plays for United.
